If I want a cell phone, I go to RS... If I want parts, I go elsewhere...

The shack's phones are overpriced too. They try to keep up with the big retailers like Wal-Mart and Target--but they can't. My family just got phones from Target--Verizon 4G--for a dollar each with the two year contract. Radio Shack can't and won't touch that price. No wonder why they're going under. They ought to drop cell phones altogether and concentrate on home electronics like they used to.

So far RS has offered me the most trade in for my iPhone 4 towards the 5. Of course no 5s in stock. Nor are they Walmart, Best Buy, or AT&T.

If RS does go away it will mean a 40 mile drive through congested urban traffic to get to the next closest store that sells the same type of things. Yes, $4.50 may seem high for a metal shell DB9 connector until you add in 80 miles worth of gas at current prices to get one for $2.99.

KA1BIN Steve, you forgot Radio Shack's short foray into Tech America. I worked in one in Az for about 6 months and boy oh boy did that store have every thing. The components area was as big as some Rad Shack stores. But alas, it didn't make any money either.

KA1BIN Steve, you forgot Radio Shack's short foray into Tech America. I worked in one in Az for about 6 months and boy oh boy did that store have every thing. The components area was as big as some Rad Shack stores. But alas, it didn't make any money either.

Rick wn2c

God, Rick, I forgot about them.I remember begging them to give me a copy of their monthly? sales flier.I remember once that they had an Alinco (I think) 2 meter transceiver, it was about the size of a pack of cigarettes, but much thinner, I think that it outputed about 300 mW.

And the hand tools, they were actually good quality, made in Japan, I mean not like the junk Hong Kong and Korean tools stocked in the RS Stores. Later on, they did stock some of the "Tech" branded tools in the RS stores.

I remember hoping that they would open a Tech America store in Massachusetts, no luck.

Now that I think of it, remember the Incredible Universe? When that happened I thought Tandy Corp was out of their mind, I think Bernie Kopell was CEO at that time. Good ole' Bernie, he was my direct boss for a while when he was still only a VP. All of those Incredible stores made nice Home Depots when they went belly-up.

And lets not forget Computer City. At Fort Worth, whoever choose the locations of the Computer City stores must have been on a permanent high from drugs.Almost EVERY Computer City in New England was opened within 1 mile of a Compusa Store! It was probably like that throughout the whole USA.

But them was the days, when Tandy stock was worth over $120 per share.

Here is a good one for you, talk about manipulating stock value....Around 1991, Tandy bought a small R&D company that was trying to develope a reasonable priced RECORDING Audio CD unit. Tandy took out FULL PAGE ads in the New York Times, USA Today, and the Wall Street Journal. The ad basically shouted that Radio Shack and Tandy will soon introduce the World's First Recording CD deck. It was called THOR! (I ain't making this up, run a Google search). That ad drove the stock price up and up. Too bad Tandy never did introduce their THOR, from what I understand, the technology they bought didn't work.

Wanted to purchase an audio connector from RS. Didn't need full metal connector. At $ 4.50 each, too expensive. Clerk showed me a plastic backshell connector in a package, $ 4.50 for 2. Departed store without connector, but with lots of disgust

.Perfect example of why RS is running away from the hobbyist business. Over the past weeks I've read several articles in the financial press about saving RS and not one of them suggests stocking more small parts for hams.

You know, for all the Rad Shack bashing they do have an extensive list of components on the web site. May not be what you need but....just saying. This is what they went to after Tech America. I know, when I am looking for a part I want to be able to find it in a local store and pick it up not order it and have it shipped.

Wanted to purchase an audio connector from RS. Didn't need full metal connector. At $ 4.50 each, too expensive. Clerk showed me a plastic backshell connector in a package, $ 4.50 for 2. Departed store without connector, but with lots of disgust.

Your concept of 'disgusting' is rather odd.

$4.50 is too much, but $2.25 is STILL too much for a connector? Huh?

Go across the street to the automotive store and price electrical connectors for trailers and such.

Go figure out how much it is going to cost to buy that one connector with shipping from Digi-Key, Mouser, etc. Figure out how much it would cost to drive to the next city which (MIGHT) have an electronics supply place.

I have 2 RS stores in my area, one is a Tandy-run store which can only stock what Tandy sends them, or special order. Not a bad selection of basic parts and components in store, but the staff is clueless about technical aspects. The other store is a franchise where the stock is purchased by the the owner and resold. Very limited, and mostly clueless. Both are into phones big time. I have one of their digital soldering stations that works well, and although RS has a limited selection of tips available, I discovered it uses one of the Hakko series of tips, which are available locally at an industrial supply house.

We used to have a Southeastern Electronics dealer, but he's gone. I'm thinking internet parts and component dealers are pretty much in charge of the electronics component market, now.

Best Buy will break your legs if you tell them you don't want their asinine extended warranty. Bought a HiFi receiver from them 10 years ago. It was in a huge heavy box. The salesman was going to help us wrangle it to checkout. When I told him I didn't want the warranty he disappeared.

Of course, that receiver is still working, as is the cable its connected to.

Heck, we may be the last home with a CRT TV in our area. My wife hates it compared with modern sleek flat screen ones. But it refuses to die after maybe 20 years.

Best Buy will break your legs if you tell them you don't want their asinine extended warranty. Bought a HiFi receiver from them 10 years ago. It was in a huge heavy box. The salesman was going to help us wrangle it to checkout. When I told him I didn't want the warranty he disappeared.

That sounds like Best Buy.A few years ago my sister bought a DVD player there.She got it home, hooked it up and it didn't work.She took it back and they were VERY patronizingto her, saying she "probably didn't hook it up correctly".My sister is very technically inclined and has a MastersDegree in Computer Science. And hooking up a DVDplayer is not rocket science. So she says "Hook it up righthere and show me it works." They did and it didn't work.She got a replacement, took it home, and IT didn't work.Disgusted, she took it back and asked for her money back.They processed the refund, but held back a %15 restockingcharge. My sister says "How on Earth do you chargea restocking fee on DEFECTIVE MERCHANDISE?".The salesman said "That's the only way our system willallow me to process it". She asked to speak to the manager,who was at lunch. The Assistant Manager was useless andjust played with the system, trying to "force" the refund.She was there an hour and a half to finally get thecomplete refund. %15 of the price wasn't all thatmuch to haggle over, but it was the principle of the matter.

I know a lot of people who love to shop at Best Buy.Maybe this incident was an aberration, but she toldeveryone she knew about it. Bad things about a companytravel faster and are remembered longer than good things.73, Ken AD6KA

Thier primary business has become celphones. Every time I go in there is some welfare type trying to get a celphone and does not have the credit. An it is always the store clerk's fault. It always ends up the same. Those of us wanting to buy a part stand there with the part in hand waiting for a clerk, and waiting and waiting.

Thier primary business has become celphones. Every time I go in there is some welfare type trying to get a celphone and does not have the credit. An it is always the store clerk's fault. It always ends up the same. Those of us wanting to buy a part stand there with the part in hand waiting for a clerk, and waiting and waiting.

I wish they would dump the celphones. But it is not going to happen.

HEY, They got me an iPhone 5 before either the ATT store of the Apple store could. Rat shack has some redeeming qualities still.

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